Cameras to provide view of Intracoastal through Flagler

Tuesday

Aug 27, 2013 at 3:55 PMAug 27, 2013 at 10:17 PM

Flagler's waterfront video network may become a model for other coastal counties.

By JULIE MURPHYjulie.murphy@news-jrnl.com

Four video cameras have been installed along the Intracoastal Waterway, with four more on the way, to provide anyone with a computer or mobile device a live look at the waterway throughout Flagler County. The program, funded by a $50,000 “Eyes on Navigation” grant through the Florida Inland Navigation District and Flagler County, has been two years in the making, county spokesman Carl Laundrie said. Flagler's waterfront video network may become a model for other coastal counties. “This is a really neat program,” Laundrie said. “There are benefits for tourism and local fishermen. The information will be invaluable — assuming there is electricity to run the cameras — when there are hurricanes and other big storms.” Should a large vessel wreak havoc by motoring through too fast and “swamp the little boats,” a 9-1-1 dispatcher will be able to watch what is happening in real time and respond appropriately, Laundrie said. When it is activated in September, the system will connect 24/7 video images and local weather station information, including air and water temperatures, through a special page on the Tourist Development Council website, palmcoastandtheflaglerbeaches.com.“This is one more example of Flagler County taking the resources that make this county a great place to live and have them available to everyone,” County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin said. “Imagine being able to view the sunrise over the water at Princess Place from the convenience of your laptop on the kitchen table (in a Northern state) while a winter snow storm rages outside.”A new distribution system acquired by the county will allow many users to use the site simultaneously, Laundrie said. Everything should be operational on or shortly after Sept. 16, when a ribbon-cutting will be held at Bings Landing for this and other projects funded through the Florida Inland Navigation District. “It will provide as much information as can be gathered all in one spot,” Laundrie said. Georgia Turner, vice president for tourism with the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates, said it will be a “nice addition” for residents and tourists alike. “You can see boats going by, whatever is happening at the time,” she said. “It's great for destination marketing, because it gives you a flavor of what it is like here if you have never been.” An added bonus is free wireless Internet access near the Whitney Labs in Marineland; at Princess Place Preserve in Palm Coast; as well as at Bings Landing in the Hammock. The Moody Boat Launch in Flagler Beach and at Herschel King Park, which is also in Palm Coast, will have wireless access through the Aliki condominium homeowners association in Flagler Beach.“Basic filters” are in place to block illicit uses, Laundrie said. Jon Netts, mayor of Palm Coast and the local Florida Inland Navigation District representative, said the cameras offer “something for everybody.”“With live feeds from four or five locations, it's a great way to showcase the waterway,” Netts said. “You know how Flagler County is. It can rain on one side of the street and not the other. If you want to go boating or fishing, you can check the conditions where you want to go.”Cameras have been installed at the following sites: Whitney Labs, located in the northern reaches of the county, with a view to the south; Princess Place, pointed across the bay; and Bings Landing, where there are two cameras, one pointed north and the other one south. Herschel King Park and the Moody Boat Launch will get two cameras each within the next month or so, Laundrie said. Don't discount the images the “high-quality” cameras provide, Netts said.“If you'd just like to see what the area looks like, but don't have waterfront property, you can do it,” he said. Cameras trained on the beach may be added later.